Holocaust Museum Houston's Fall Film Series will feature three early cinematic dramatizations that helped shape the memory of the Holocaust in popular consciousness. Two films will be presented in the Museum's Albert and Ethel Herzstein Theater at the Morgan Family Center, 5401 Caroline St.

The films were made at a time when the Holocaust was not a familiar topic and they were exceptional in exposing the harsh reality of the war; one shows the loss of innocence; one the emotional scars left by the Holocaust; and one the bleak truth surrounding an ill-fated attempt at freedom.

On Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., HMH will present "The Pawnbroker." This drama centers around an elderly New York City slum-area pawnbroker, tormented by his painful memories of Nazi concentration camp nightmare. Embittered, he brushes off all friendly people in his life, insisting that nothing matters and emotions are wasted. When the young "apprentice" he hired lays his own life on the line to protect his boss from being shot during a robbery, the pawnbroker shows his first human emotions since the horrific day he lost his family. Tickets are $4 for HMH members and $5 for nonmembers. Seating is limited, and advance registration is required. Visit hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to RSVP online. For information, call 713-942-8000 or email events@hmh.org.

On Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m., HMH will screen "Voyage of the Damned." Based on a true story, the film details a very dark chapter in U.S. history. In 1939, the S.S. St. Louis, a luxury ocean liner, sailed from Germany to Cuba. 937 people, the vast majority being Jews, signed up for the opportunity to escape Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, the visas that the passengers purchased were invalid. Only 28 people were allowed to disembark, while the rest remained on board for weeks as they sailed to Florida searching for safe haven in America. Sadly, the ship returned to Antwerp after more than a month at sea.

Holocaust Museum Houston offers tours focusing on the German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer every Sunday afternoon in October 2010. The life and ministry of Bonhoeffer and his message to the church in the context of the events of the Holocaust will be the focus of tours of the Museum's permanent exhibit, German railcar and Danish fishing boat. Tours include a look at the early influences on Bonhoeffer before the Holocaust, his organization of the Confessing Church to stand with the Jews in reaction to the Aryan clause and his imprisonment and execution at the Flossenburg concentration camp by direct order from Adolf Hitler. Admission and the walk-in tour are free. To schedule a private group tour for 10 or more in advance, call 713-942-8000, ext. 102 or visit the Museum's Web site atwww.hmh.org.

"Kaddish" composer Lawrence Siegel has said, "My job as a composer is to use powerful words and stories to cause a visceral, emotional experience in the audience. If I have done my job well, the music will amplify those those feelings." The New Hampshire composer will introduce his hour-long oratorio for chorus, soloists and orchestra in this free public lecture. The "Kaddish" libretto is inspired by and fashioned from the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust, including Houston survivors Celina Fein, Walter Kase, Bill Morgan and Naomi Warren. On Nov. 23 the Houston Symphony and Holocaust Museum Houston will present this important musical piece and the heroic journey of the Holocaust survivors whose personal testimony provides the verbatim text and framework for this engaging performance. Siegel's work follows the survivors' experiences from pre-war Europe, through the war and Holocaust, to the hope and strength of Warren's words "I am here. I survived, and look who is with me" as she returns to visit Auschwitz. Siegel's "Kaddish" is music of remembrance and hope, providing a window into history and a musical mosaic of survivors' lives and experiences. "Admission is free, but seating is limited, and advance registration is required. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to RSVP online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or e-mail events@hmh.org. To purchase tickets for the Nov. 23 performance of "Kaddish," call 713-224-7575 or visithttp://www.houstonsymphony.org.

Dr. James Young is professor of English and Judaic studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a former juror for the World Trade Center Site Memorial. In 1997, Young was appointed by the Berlin Senate to the five-member Findungskommission for Germany's national "Memorial to Europe's Murdered Jews," dedicated in 2005. He has also consulted with Argentina's government on its memorial to the desaparacidos, as well as with numerous city agencies on their memorials and museums. Most recently, he was appointed by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to the jury for the World Trade Center Site Memorial competition, now under construction. In this free public lecture, Young will discuss the variety of ways in which the memory of the Holocaust is represented in memorials and use slides to illustrate numerous examples. Advance registration is required. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to RSVP online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or e-mail events@hmh.org.

Two major events that focus on memory and the arts in relation to the Holocaust will be occurring this November – the temporary exhibition, "Fragile Fragments" will open at Holocaust Museum Houston on Nov. 5 and on Nov. 23, the Houston Symphony will perform "Kaddish." This one-day workshop will prepare teachers to undertake a study of the Holocaust and the memories of these events as they are transmitted through memorials, art and music. The morning session will feature Professor James Young who will explore the development of memorials and art to commemorate the Holocaust. Young is professor of English and Judaic studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has taught since 1988, and currently the chair of the Department of Judiac and Near Eastern Studies. The afternoon session will feature Lawrence Siegel, composer of "Kaddish" and Dr. Mary Lee Webeck, director of education at HMH, as they explore the significance of music in relating the experiences of the Holocaust. Siegel has been composer-in-residence at the Eugene O'Neill Puppetry Conference since 1999 and is also a nationally known performer of traditional music on piano and mandolin. The $15 nonrefundable workshop fee covers workshop materials. Lunch is not included. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx by Oct. 20 to register online. For more information, call 713-942-8000, ext. 105 or e-mailteachertraining@hmh.org.